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From Foster to Famous: Ruth Westheimer

May 17, 2017

Famed media personality Ruth Westheimer, 88, is known for her small stature and big personality.

Born in 1928, Westheimer grew up in Nazi-controlled Germany.

As tensions increased across the region, Westheimer’s parents were desperate to find safety for their only child. In 1939, young Westheimer found sanctuary in Switzerland in the Kindertransport program. She was one of a hundred children who was saved.

By 1941, she stopped receiving letters from her parents. She learned of their death in 1945, and continued to be a ward of the state until she was 17.

In 2015, a New York play entitled “Becoming Dr. Ruth,” was released chronicling her struggles from refuge, to foster child, to the Dr. Ruth the world knows today.